By AARON RECUENCO
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President Duterte has ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to intensify the enforcement of existing laws and local ordinances that penalize drinking, smoking, and roaming around topless in public places.
PNP chief Police Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa said the strict enforcement of existing laws and local ordinances is aimed at reinforcing the government’s preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19.
“Upon instructions of President Duterte, the Philippine National Police is stepping up the anti-crime drive and enforcement of local ordinances in coordination with the local government units to arrest the rise of common street crimes amidst the national health emergency,” said Gamboa.
The PNP chief said a memorandum has been issued to all police commanders reiterating the enforcement.
Also included in strict enforcement are the use of karaoke beyond the allowed time and minors violating the curfew.
Last week, Joint Task Force COVID Shield commander Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said that the local ordinances which he described as discipline-based ordinances would be a big boost in compelling the people down to the barangay level to observe the minimum health safety protocols like wearing of face masks and physical distancing.
The strict enforcement of the existing ordinances was similar to the “anti-tambay” (bystander) operations that were aggressively implemented in Metro Manila since July 2018 where more than 1.8 million residents were fined, warned, and arrested.
Eleazar said the enforcement of local ordinances resulted in the decrease of the crime volume in Metro Manila by 63 percent in the first 40 months of the Duterte administration compared to the last 40 months of the Aquino administration.
“Through intensified police visibility and strategic deployment, coupled with cooperation of barangay enforcers, we were able to impose discipline in Metro Manila which eventually elicited positive results on crime statistics,” said Eleazar.
“We believe that we can use this strategy against COVID-19 especially that we have been receiving complaints and observations about some of our ‘kababayan’ who start to become complacent after some of the quarantine rules were eased,” he added.
